Over the past decade American air travel has become a pretty daunting task. What was once a mode of luxury and leisure has become a heavily trafficked and frequently esoteric experience. There's a ritual to making it through airport security smoothly and a number of ways to avoid the most common headaches of traveling by air. Here are a few tips for becoming a real pro of the plane experience.

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All across the country, county fair season is winding up!  The summertime is when counties invite their residents to submit everything from chickens to crafts to be judged and the winners given ribbons, and sometimes cash prizes.  (And in my county, a $2 discount off the price of a fair ticket!)

I think it's safe to say that every crafter in the United States lives within the range of a county fair.  (The only exception I've found so far is residents of New York City, who would probably have to submit their entries to the state fair instead.)

So why should you enter?


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For those of you who think that recycled crafts have to be made out of bent toilet paper tubes and rolled up newspapers—and have no place in a home other than perhaps the kids’ rooms—guess again! In her book Eco Craft: Recycle, Recraft, Restyle, Susan Wasinger presents some super stylish eco-friendly designs made out of recycled materials that could actually make your living room more swanky than dumpy. Though hardback, Wasinger’s book is even printed with eco-friendly materials, and the crafts inside are sure to place both artists as well as designers.

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According to Newsweek, America's creativity is dwindling.  Every year a group of scientists tests a group of kids for creativity, and offers scores - in much the same way that an IQ test scores the kids' intelligence.  Creativity scores increased year over year until 1990, when they started declining.  And have continued to decline ever since.

I have some serious misgivings about the research, the numbers, what they mean, and where they come from.  But these results FEEL true, don't they? 

It feels as if people have become more rigid, less willing to step back and see the big picture, less interested in learning and problem solving and frankly in doing anything other than wasting time on Facebook and watching television.


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Nectarine, a tertiary colorI have to tell you, I have been having the worst WORST luck with knitting projects lately.  And you know why?  Because I ignore that little voice inside my head that's disagreeing with whatever decision I happen to be making at the time.  I hate that little voice, but it always turns out to be right in the end.  (Which only makes it smug!)

People, this kind of thing is why I always knit with gray!  (Cascade 220 shade #8400 "Charcoal.")


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Create A Pattern (click here to download it from the official site) is the latest in a series of incredibly powerful tools which EA has released to the Sims player markets. 

I think a lot of people are brushing these off or taking them for granted, but Create A Pattern (and Create A World before it) are an amazing step towards reaching out to the audience, encouraging more deep-level interaction with the game, and introducing powerful development tools to an audience that might not otherwise seek them out.

The tooltips in CAP are really helpful, although they flickered on my system (Windows Vista) so I had to read them a few words at a time.  I found it a lot more helpful to click the ? at the upper right and read through the eight-page instruction PDF that pops up.


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Ah summer, when wool yarn somehow gets sticky in the hand, and the thought of sitting with a giant pile of knitting on your lap is less than appealing.  What's a knitter to do in the hot summer months?

Fiber content can be a big issue when the weather goes summery.  In high humidity, lightweight animal fibers like angora and mohair can become a real liability.  And although it would seem to make sense to start knitting winter garments now, something like a bulky wool/alpaca blend is just not going to be your friend on a hot summer night.


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Wendy Johnson is one of the internet's earliest and most prominent knitting bloggers, and is well on her way to becoming one of its most prolific pattern designers.  Aside from her books (three at this time, I believe), Johnson has also released a ton of stand-alone patterns, mainly sock patterns.  

Naturally these are all knit from the toe up, as Johnson is also one of the most famous advocates for toe-up sock knitting.  Many a new sock knitter has started with the pattern known simply as "Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock."  This is a pretty great pattern, although I confess to never having gotten the knack of doing a crochet provisional cast on correctly so that you can unzip the stitches at the end.


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Independence Day is one of the best holidays for making vibrant, memorable crafts and projects—either with the kids or alone. Here are some fun, low-cost craft projects you might want to do this holiday weekend with your family.

Patriotic Pinwheels: Pinwheels are such a hit because once they’re finished, they give you a final product you can use in so many ways. You can give them out to guests as a party favor, to kids as a toy to play with, or decorate with them to polish off your Independence Day theme. Click here for easy yet polished pinwheel instructions.

Freedom Rocks: Paint river rocks red, white, and blue and decorate your 4th of July table with them. They work very well around candles (within holders). You can also paint words on them and give them to guests as souvenirs.

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Maybe you don’t approve of fireworks because of their cost, or because of the pollution they cause to the environment. Maybe you hate the loud noises, or simply the related dangers of fireworks. Whatever your reason, it’s perfectly okay to not want to shoot off fireworks. Of course, kids usually get pretty bummed out in such cases, so you might want to have some alternative ideas for celebrating “with a bang.” Here are ten to try.

10. Throw Confetti

But isn’t that just as bad for the environment, you ask? Maybe. You could always throw scrap paper—especially dots from your hole puncher—and then put them in your compost bin. But you could also chop up anything else going in the bin—strawberry stems, fruit rinds, whatever—and toss them in the yard, too. The scent will be wonderful, though it may get messy!

9. Blow Bubbles

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